Raw Awakening
by cerebralgoddess21
Summary: Stephanie never said “I quit” in her match against her father, when she comes back as the Co-GM of Raw, how will she and Eric get along? Feat: HBK, Y2J, HHH
1. Look Whose Back

**Title: Raw Awakening  
  
Rating: R; sexual content and strong language  
  
Characters: Eric Bischoff, Stephanie McMahon, HHH, Chris Jericho  
  
Summary: Stephanie never said "I quit" in her match against her father, she comes back to RAW as the Co-GM, and Eric is not at all thrilled by her presence or their partnership.   
  
Disclaimer/Authors Notes: I do not own anyone in this story, I'm just using them in my own twisted way, I'm sure everyone I use in this fanfic is married in r/l but in my stories, no one is married, they're single, unless they get married in my story. This may have strong sexual content in it and language, so those who are offended by it, please don't read on. But those who still want to read this - continue on to the story! **  
  
"What do you mean there's going to be a new Co-GM?! I can handle this all on my own Vince, you know that!," Eric was outraged beyond reason.  
  
"I know you can Eric, but Linda insisted on this happening, she thinks it would be a good idea to have someone keep you in line, and she's sure of this," Vince sighed.  
  
"I thought you divorced the old hag!," Eric steamed.  
  
"She won't let that happen Eric, she still owns part of the company since she took my last name, so that's how it's going to be I guess," Vince felt defeated.  
  
"Alright, well, at least tell me who it is," he asked impatiently.  
  
"I can't tell you, you'll find out tonight Eric, and I'm going to tell you now, you will not be happy about it," Vince then hung up.  
  
"Damnit," Eric cursed to himself.  
  
He hung up his cell phone and laid back against his leather couch, he knew that tonight he would find out who his new partner was, and for some reason, he had a bad feeling about it.  
  
Eric kept his eyes on the monitor that night, watching, and waiting to see who the new Co-GM was and if they would walk in at any moment.  
  
"Mr. Bischoff..," a man kept saying to Eric.  
  
"Mr. Bischoff..... this is really important"  
  
Eric turned around sharply,"Shouldn't you be doing your job Steve?!"  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that someone is waiting for you in your office Sir," Steve pointed out.  
  
"Oh, alright..thank you," Eric then scoffed off to his office, leaving Steve behind shaking his head, disappointed that his boss was so rude.  
  
Eric stopped at his office door and put his hand on the knob, before turning it he took a deep breath, hoping it was someone he could actually get along with.  
  
He opened the door and tried to put on his best smile until he saw a pair of familiar legs sticking out from his chair at his desk.   
  
He tried to hold back from cursing when Stephanie McMahon turned the chair around and smirked, "Hello Eric," she smiled.  
  
Eric looked down for a moment, still holding back from throwing something or going on a huge rant.   
  
"What are you doing here princess?," he asked her in his best pretend "nice voice".  
  
"Didn't you hear? I'm your new partner. We're going to have one hell of a time working together, aren't we?," she smirked.  
  
This time he bit his lip, he could say so much right now but he knew he would pay for it if he did.  
  
"What's wrong Eric, you look a little.. disgruntled. Are you displease to see me? Cause if I recall correctly, the last time we were in the same office, you tried shoving your tongue down my throat!"  
  
Eric smirked a little this time, maybe things were going to be a bit more fun then he expected, pissing off the princess and making sarcastic and witty comments toward her seemed to work pretty well for him. Plus it was a lot of fun.   
  
"If I recall correctly Steph, you seemed to like it," he smirked.   
  
"I didn't like it at all Eric, you must be delusional," she laughed a little this time.  
  
He got closer to the desk and sat down on top of it next to where the seat was, "Now now Stephie, I know the truth, there's no denying it. You enjoyed it, just admit it. C'mon, it'll make you feel better. I'll even tell you now.. I liked it." His eyebrows moved up a bit then he spoke again with a confident smile, "In fact, after I got home that night I-"   
  
"Eric, I don't want to hear anything about you fantasizing about me cause don't think I haven't watched RAW and Smackdown since I've been gone, I know what you've been saying. I heard you tell Steve Austin that you fantasized about me and that just made me want to hurl," she made a disgusted face, "You're utterly disgusting."  
  
Eric chuckled, "Don't flatter yourself princess, I wouldn't give you the time of day."  
  
"Oh really?," she stood up in an intimidating way.  
  
"You think I'm afraid of you? What? Are you going to call Daddy to help you? Oh, that's right, I forgot, he hates your guts!," he laughed.  
  
_Smack!_ Stephanie slapped him across the face as hard as she could, leaving a light red mark on Eric's cheek.  
  
Eric held his face in pain, then grabbed Stephanie by the arm and pulled her to him, "Don't think I won't knock you out Steph, I'm not afraid to get physical with you. The best part is, no one here likes you, not your ex-husband, not Jericho, no one. So no one will come to your rescue, not even your Olympic bitch Kurt Angle. Take this as a warning princess. Don't you ever slap me again," he threatened, he then let go of her wrist and saw something very unfamiliar in the princess's eyes.   
  
Was it fear? Anger? Disgust? Did she like the fact that he was taking charge? He couldn't figure it out. But he did know that this was going to be a very odd partnership, if not an interesting one.  
  



	2. Trapped

Stephanie sat up straight in her new desk that was moved into Eric's office. She insisted on having her own office, but Vince insisted they share one since they will be working together anyways.   
  
She smoothed out her light black skirt for a moment then went back to the paperwork she had in on the desk in front of her.  
  
Right as she put her pen on the paper Chris Jericho walked in, mad as hell for some unknown reason.  
  
"Eric!," he shouted as he walked in.  
  
Stephanie looked up and smiled, "He hasn't shown up to the arena yet Chris," she then turned her attention at the contract in front of her.  
  
Chris walked over to Stephanie and placed both of his hands on the desk, leaning in toward her, "Okay then, I'll talk to you about what it is I need then."  
  
She looked up and glared, "Fine, make it quick."  
  
"Everyone is getting a title shot at Benoit other then me! I've worked my ass off in this business, I think I deserve to fight the champ! But you don't see me with any titles in my hands do you? Of coarse not, cause I've never been given the opportunity!," Jericho ranted.   
  
Steph kept a stern look on her face as she spoke to him, "Well Chris, have you tried actually challenging the champion? That could help just a little," she smiled.  
  
"Don't be a smartass with me Steph! We all know the real reason why you're here. The Godfather wasn't hiring anymore hoes so Vince put you as Co-GM! Pft, anyone can do that. All you have to do is screw Eric to get your way! Or have you already?," he mouthed back.  
  
Steph just kept smiling, "Chris, there was a time your stupid comments used to get to me, but now they don't. I know when things don't go your way, you take them out on people who are right in front of you. Well, it won't happen. Tonight, you will face HHH and .. Hmmm let's say .. Kane? It will be a triple threat for the number one contendership for the championship."  
  
"Fine! But if Evolution comes out to help HHH-"  
  
Stephanie cut him off, "They will be barred from ringside."  
  
Chris was happy now, "Alright, that's good enough," with that he left the room, walking past Eric on the way out.  
  
"What was that all about?," Eric asked suspiciously.  
  
"I just made a match," Steph pretended like it was no big deal as she continued writing.  
  
"You...made a match. me?," he walked over to her and Stephanie stood up and leaned over her desk.  
  
"Yes, I did. I have the power to do so, so I did it."  
  
Eric was outraged, "You aren't supposed to do that Stephanie, you are supposed to check with me before-"  
  
"That's funny, cause when Mick or Steve Austin were Co-GM's you didn't seem to argue with them. Was that because you knew they could beat you within an inch of your life?," she smiled.   
  
Eric gave her the look of death, "If it were up to me, I would fire you right now."  
  
Stephanie shot back, "But it isn't up to you is it Eric?"   
  
Stephanie then stood up and walked over to the table that had the coffee machine and styrofoam cups on there along with creams, and sugars. She picked up the cup but Eric turned her around and looked her in the eyes.  
  
"If you don't mind, I'd like to get some coffee, or do I need your permission for that too?," she asked sarcastically.  
  
Eric was about to open his mouth until he heard his cell phone going off.  
  
"We'll get back to this conversation in a minute," he glared, then picked up his cell phone and answered it.   
  
Stephanie didn't pay attention to who he was talking to, she just poured her coffee, put a lid on it then sat down in the comfy leather couch in the office.  
  
Eric then hung up his cell phone after the not so pleasant conversation he had at the other end.  
  
"Well, sounds like your ex husband isn't too thrilled about his match tonight, he'd rather have Benoit one on one for the title, thinking he deserves it more then Kane and Jericho."   
  
Stephanie just looked at him with a confused expression on her face, "He should be happy I put him in the mix, I could've put Randy Orton or someone else who wasn't deserving of a shot."  
  
Eric walked over and sat next to her on the couch, looking at her for a moment, "You're only saying that he deserves a shot because he's your ex husband. But remember who he signed with in the beginning. He didn't choose you Steph. Get over it."  
  
"Get over it? You're telling me to get over something? How about you get over the fact that I will not let you be in total control of RAW now that I'm here? Face it Eric, you need a little assistance more then you think, and I'll be the one who makes sure that you don't screw up. Or, maybe I will let you screw up, and I can be the one who makes the good matches. That way I'll be the GM of RAW, and you'll be kicked off to the side!," Stephanie smiled proudly.  
  
"I can't believe how much of a bitch you can be sometimes," he sneered.  
  
"And I can't believe how much of an asshole, pervert, and arrogant jerk off you can be sometimes Eric," she smiled.  
  
"If you had any idea of how much I hated you-"  
  
"You would have no idea how much I hated you Eric..," she cut him off as she put her coffee down.  
  
Eric grabbed her and pulled her to him, looking at her for a moment almost trying to seem threatening but instead leaning in as if he was about to plant a kiss on her.  
  
"Let go of me Eric..," she demanded.   
  
_Knock Knock_ There was a knock at the door for a moment.   
  
"Come in!," Stephanie shouted out.  
  
Eric rolled his eyes then let go of her, realizing she was trying to get someone to interrupt the "moment," they had.  
  
The two Co-GM's looked up and saw HHH standing there.   
  
Stephanie gulped a little, "Hey, Hunter..uh, HHH, what can I .. what can we do for you?," she smiled.  
  
"What can you do for me? What can you do for me Steph? First off, you can cancel that damn match you put me in! You could have me face Benoit tonight for the title and make sure that your nephew (HHH glared at Eric when he spoke about Eugene) doesn't screw me over again."   
  
Stephanie and Eric exchanged glances, trying to figure out what to do about the match.  
  
"Well?!," HHH yelled, obviously impatient.  
  
"I'm thinking HHH, alright? I'm trying to fix Stephanie's mess..," Eric glared at her.  
  
"It's not my mess, I can only please one person when it comes to matches, you know that. Someone will always be dissatisfied," Stephanie realized both men could make a joke out of what she just said but she hoped they wouldn't.  
  
"It seems you leave a lot of people dissatisfied don't you princess!?," Eric mocked her.  
  
"Shut up Eric, just shut up!," she demanded.  
  
"Ooh, I feel so threatened by you Steph!," he said with complete sarcasm in his voice.  
  
HHH just stood there in his wrestling attire, "I'm tired of this bullshit, I'm heading out to the ring, I can see you two are too busy arguing to care about anyone else but yourselves!"   
  
"Hunter, no, that's not true!," Stephanie said, but it was too late, he already left.  
  
After the door slammed Stephanie stood up and glared at the man in front of her, "This is all YOUR fault! How could you not give HHH a title shot to begin with!? He's on the top of the roster isn't he? Isn't he?!," she felt like unleashing all her frustrations on him at that moment.   
  
Eric then stood up and moved in within inches of Stephanie, "I think you're blaming the wrong person Stephanie. HHH lost his title quite a while back, that was his fault, so now there's a new number one contender. He will be facing Benoit at the next Pay Per View, after that, whoever wins the match tonight will face the champion, whoever it may be," he tried to remain calm.   
  
Eric and Stephanie tried not to talk to each other the remainder of the night until the last match of the evening. It was JerichovsHHHvsKane. They watched very carefully as the match went on, Stephanie seeming more and more worried when she saw HHH get hurt in the match and made it obvious.  
  
"Oh my god..," she said under her breath as she saw Kane throw HHH down on the concrete floor as if he was a small child.  
  
Eric turned to her, his curiosity taking over, "Do you still love him?," he asked her.  
  
She looked at him for a moment and a little bit of anger and frustration consumed her, "how could you ask me that?," she said.  
  
"Well you seem pretty upset when he gets beaten down by other wrestlers, I mean-"  
  
"I don't love him. Not after what he put me through," she laid back against the couch and tried to remain calm.  
  
"In my opinion I think he put you in your place princess. He just said what all of us were thinking," he smirked.  
  
"That's not true and you know it! People just don't know the real me, Hunter did, Kurt did..," she sighed.  
  
"Jericho did..," Eric snickered.  
  
"That's not funny," she sneered.  
  
Eric stood up as the last few minutes of RAW were about to end, Jericho had just pinned HHH, the crowd was cheering and some counting - "1.....", the crowd counted, Stephanie mouthed, "2...," and as he watched Eric said, "3." It was over. HHH had lost the match, the new contender was Chris Jericho.  
  
Stephanie sighed then stood up, taking some mints out of her purse she popped a few in her mouth and headed for the door.  
  
"Wait, Stephanie...," Eric called out to her.  
  
She turned and walked toward him, "What is it Eric?"  
  
He looked at her and then down at the floor, "Well, we should probably plan our main event for next Monday, don't you think?," he said in a "well duh," type of way, but that wasn't what he really wanted to say to her.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so..," she put her bag down and sat on the couch next to him.  
  
It seemed they talked for an hour or so about the main event, arguing about who should be in it, and for what title - then before they knew it, it was past midnight.  
  
Stephanie yawned, "What time is it?"   
  
Eric looked at his watch, "It's 12:45. Hm. Didn't know any of our conversations could be that long," he was remotely surprised.  
  
"I better get going..," she said.  
  
"Yeah, we all know you need your beauty sleep," he smirked.  
  
"Eric, I'm way too tired to win an argument with you," she then walked out the door.  
  
About 15 minutes later he walked out toward the exit and tried to open it, but he couldn't get it to budge.  
  
"What the-," he said to himself.  
  
"Everything's locked," a familiar voice appeared behind him.  
  
Eric turned around quickly, not knowing anyone else was in the building other then him.  
  
"My god Stephanie! Lurk much?," he held his heart then looked the other direction, trying to find another exit.   
  
She just looked at him, exhausted and annoyed, "I've already tried the other exits. We're locked in." 


	3. It Could Be Worse

"Why?! Why do these things always happen to me?," Stephanie sighed as she kept her back against the wall and slowly slinked down.  
  
Eric just looked at her like she was already planning the worst, "Are you sure none of the exits worked?! How could they lock us in here? I'm going to fire the guy who locks up the arena last!," Eric stammered.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure you will Eric, besides, I'm sure it wasn't their fault, they were just doing their job," she rolled her eyes at him.   
  
He just looked at her like he was about to strangle her, "Well, we need to find some way to get out of her, I don't want to be stuck here with you."   
  
Her eyebrows went up, "and you think I like being stuck here with you? I'd much rather be the GM of Smackdown again! If I was, this never would have happened!"  
  
Eric paused for a moment then spoke, "That's right..it's all your fault we're in this mess cause you put your General Managership on the line! I'm blaming you for this!," he pointed his finger at her for a moment then began pacing.  
  
"That's right, blame it on me, that's what everyone does. Hunter did it when we were married, Jericho blamed me when I was managing him, my Dad blamed me for his marriage falling apart. So go ahead Eric, blame me cause I really deserve it," she glared.  
  
Eric actually felt bad for what he said and sucked it up as he said softly, "I'm sorry."  
  
Stephanie's head cocked up as she seemed in total disbelief, "You're..sorry? Why Eric? My personal life has nothing to do with you. Why should you be sorry?," she stood up and brushed herself off, "No one has ever pitied me except Kurt, and only when he thought Hunter was beating me cause he yelled at me all the time."   
  
"Did he love you?," Eric asked, curious.  
  
"I think so, at least Kurt seemed to show more compassion for me then anyone else I've ever known," she half-smiled.  
  
"I meant Hunter," he looked at her with a curious expression.  
  
She took a while to answer, "I thought so at times, but from what he did to me after everything started crashing down in our marriage, I don't think he loved me. I think he might've, but he didn't think so. It's more then obvious," she sighed.  
  
Eric just looked at her, and for once - he felt for the princess. He had no idea she actually showed other emotions besides anger. Part of him wanted to comfort her, but he knew that would be unwanted attention, she would push him away even if he tried. But the other part of him wanted to like the fact that she was in pain for so many years throughout her life, so he had more material to shoot back at her when she made sarcastic and witty comments to him.  
  
"What should we do Eric?," she sighed, actually asking him what he thinks.  
  
He was actually surprised, she came off as more of a "this is what we're going to do, it'll be my way or the highway" type.   
  
"Well, I think we should go out to the ring and check the exits up by the ring, I'm sure we didn't check those.  
  
"Good idea," she half-smiled as the began to walk, Eric following behind her.  
  
He watched her move and had to admit the McMahon princess was very attractive, when he tried to get under her skin about having certain thoughts about the princess that highly disturbed her, or at least, pretended to disturb her.  
  
"I know your checking out my ass Eric, so stop it," she said, not even turning around.   
  
Eric looked at her with a confused glance, even though she couldn't see him, "What do you mean princess? I'm not looking at anything!," he said innocently.  
  
She just sighed then continued walking, Eric still checking her out from behind until they reached the ring.  
  
"I'll take the bottom half, you can check the suites," he said with a smirk.  
  
"How about.. I'll check the bottom half, and you get the suites and the top half!?," she smiled in a witty fashion then started walking, Eric just watched her.  
  
"Women," he said to himself.  
  
It seemed like hours had passed as they looked for exits around the ring area, and the building, but none were found that were unlocked.  
  
"I'm thinking....we're screwed unless someone realizes they forgot something at the arena.," Eric sighed.  
  
Stephanie picked up her cell phone and tried calling all of her contacts on her phone book in the cell, but it was fairly obvious no one would answer their phone at 4am.  
  
"No one's answering, have you tried your contacts?," she asked him.  
  
He sighed, "Sadly, yes."  
  
"Or, do you even have any friends to call Eric?," she smirked.  
  
"Oooh, ouch, that hurts..," he said sarcastically, "Try a better one next time princess."  
  
They both slouched down on the seats and looked out toward the ring.  
  
"It's amazing how only 10 years ago I was sitting here watching Shawn Michaels face Stone Cold Steve Austin at a pay per view. Doesn't feel that long ago," she smiled, reminiscing.  
  
Eric then realized just how old he was if she was thinking 10 years ago wasn't that bad. She was only 18 at the time, he was...damn. He really was a lot older then her.   
  
"Yeah, 10 years ago WCW was still in tact," he sighed, "Amazing how years go by."  
  
They had an awkward moment where neither of them were being sarcastic to each other, rude, or cruel to one another, and it was almost refreshing, but at the same time very odd.  
  
Eric looked over at Stephanie and realized just how awkward the moment really was, she wasn't making fun of his age, talking about how WCW was a failure, she just sat there and looked at the ring in front of them.  
  
"So, what do you want to do to pass the time?," he asked.  
  
She turned to him automatically thinking he was assuming something, "I'm not going to have sex with you Eric."  
  
He smiled then laughed a little, "That's not what I meant, but if you want to-"  
  
"I just said, I'm not going to! Besides, you had that tone ..," she pointed out.   
  
"What tone?," he asked.  
  
"That tone where you say one thing and mean another, believe me, I know that tone, I use that tone of voice, I mean, used," she looked off to the left.  
  
"I can assure you I didn't mean that," his eyes scanned her for a moment, contemplating that thought as a smile spread across his face.  
  
Stephanie looked at him suspiciously, "You aren't thinking about that are you?," she leaned toward the left, away from him.   
  
"Oh please..," he laughed a little nervously, how could she know he was thinking that? Was he really that easy to read?  
  
She rubbed her arms a little, getting goosebumps from being in the cool arena for so long and in just a t-shirt and skirt. Eric looked over at her and noticed something else that showed through more then the goosebumps and smiled to himself.  
  
She looked at him and glared for a moment, "Can you just..not stare at my breasts?! It's creepy.."  
  
He then turned his attention forward and realized he could be a nice guy for once and do something of a gentleman nature as he removed his jacket, placing it around Stephanie, who almost backed away from him, thinking he was advancing on her, but stopped as she realized Eric was placing his coat over her arms.  
  
"Thanks....," she said in a weird tone of voice, surprised he was being so nice.  
  
"This isn't so bad, you have to admit. If it were anyone else, you wouldn't be as entertained," he smiled.   
  
She laughed a little, pulling the jacket over her more, "Well, I admit, your coat is very comfortable, but if I was stuck here with say, Chris Jericho, I'd be doomed to listen to his rants on how he's "King of the world" and the best wrestler out there," she laughed.  
  
Eric laughed as well, knowing how Jericho can be a whiny little bitch sometimes when he doesn't get what he wants.   
  
"Well, one thing is certain, we have to find food and possibly a warmer place in the arena, you know, we could always use our body heat to keep each other warm," Eric smirked.  
  
Stephanie just gave him the look of death, "I had a feeling you were going to say that.."  
  
"Well?," he asked, "It is a good idea, other then the whole sexual part of it..I won't mind," his smile widened.  
  
"I'd rather think of that as my last resort, my very, very, very last," Stephanie stood up, "We better start searching."  
  



	4. Can't Resist

After a few hours have passed they found food and water bottles, well more like Eric took the food and water bottles from the food court.  
  
Eric sat there and drank the water then ate a handful of gummy bears, with his other hand he threw a package of Tropical Starbursts to Stephanie, she looked at it as if it were about to attack her.   
  
"What's the matter?," he asked through a mouthful of gummy bears.   
  
Stephanie sighed, "Do you know how many calories are in this one little package of chewy fruit things?," she held it up so he could see it.  
  
"I'm guessing a lot, but you don't have to worry about that," he looked her over for a moment, "You really shouldn't be worrying about that."  
  
"Are you kidding me?," she squeezed her fat on her stomach which was barely even ½ inch. She didn't even have any stomach fat it looked like to him.  
  
He smiled, "Stephanie, how much do you weigh, 120?," he chuckled, "I don't think you need to worry about your weight," he then took a bite of a snickers.  
  
'More like 135,' she thought to herself, but it wouldn't matter, she could eat candy now and when she got home she'd go straight to yoga and the tredmill.   
  
"Alright, I'll give in," she then opened the starburst, Eric then had a bright idea.  
  
"Bet you can't unwrap it with your tongue," he smiled, very curious.  
  
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!," she smirked as she handed him a handful then took some of her own.  
  
"Ready?," he said.   
  
"One-," she counted.  
  
"Two," he said.  
  
"Three!," they both said as if on que then put a starburst in their mouth, trying to unwrap it with their tongue.  
  
Stephanie smirked as she looked at him with a wicked smile as she pulled out the wrapper from her mouth, "I won," she said with the now unwrapped candy in her mouth, she put the wrapper next to her on her side.   
  
Eric smiled back and then retrieved the wrapper from his mouth, keeping just the candy in his mouth, "Hm, I was only a few seconds behind," he smiled.   
  
She laughed, "That was interesting."  
  
"You know what that means right?," he asked her with a certain look of satisfaction on his face.   
  
"What does it mean?," she asked curiously.  
  
Eric scooted closer to her, "Well, that means we're both great kissers, but uh, I already knew that about you Princess from Halloween."  
  
She rolled her eyes, "I thought there was another meaning to it other then that one..," she said trying to change the subject.  
  
He smirked, "Well, the dirtier version, but may also be true is that if someone can unwrap them with their tongue not only are they a great kisser, but they're good at giving oral-"  
  
Stephanie cut him off, "I'm stopping you right there," her face turned a little red from the conversation, she wasn't sure if he was making it up just to bring her to embarrassment, for laughs, or because it was true.  
  
Eric just kept looking at her, wondering if he should say what he was tempted to say, "So, you wanna test that out and see if the myth is correct?," he smirked.   
  
Stephanie looked at him for a moment, "Try what?," she had already started thinking about something else, ignoring him for a few moments.   
  
Eric just gave her that look that she had recognized before, "Oh my god, Eric, that's dirty!," she stood up and brushed herself off.  
  
He laughed a little to himself, "I was just kidding..," he tried to dig himself out of the hole he put himself in.  
  
"Yeah, sure..," she started walking off.   
  
He caught up with her, "Wait, Princess, c'mon, take a joke."  
  
She turned around, "Eric, I don't-"  
  
Eric shut her up with a soft kiss on her lips, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him, running his hands up and down her back. She kept her eyes closed and let herself enjoy it for the moment.  
  
When she realized who it was she kissing then, when reality hit her, she pulled away, looking at him. They both stared at each other for a moment and she seemed to have a look of either shock or dismay on her face.   
  
"What's wrong?," he asked her, "Am I that bad?," he joked.  
  
She didn't say anything though, she just kept her own thoughts to herself, then she said quietly, "I need to be alone for a little while."  
  
Eric's smile turned to a frown, "Did I do something wrong? I mean, you wanted it princess, I could feel it."  
  
She just looked at him with disgust then walked off, Eric watching her ditch him.  
  
Eric walked around the arena, looking for her, then opened his office door and saw Stephanie sitting in his chair his coat draped around it.  
  
He walked over to her and sat on the corner of the desk, "I didn't mean any harm-," he began.  
  
She stood up, "Eric, I'm very confused about how .. I..," she couldn't believe she was going to say this, "how I feel about you."  
  
His eyebrows raised up for a moment as he heard those words, then he stood up and leaned in toward her, she backed away a little, "I'm not going to hurt you Stephanie."  
  
She just looked away, "Why are you being so damn nice to me Eric? You have no reason to, I'm your enemy, you're my enemy. We hate each other, don't we!? That's what enemies do," she then moved over to the couch.  
  
He followed her and sat down on the couch with her, putting his arm up on the couch while getting closer to Stephanie, "I never thought of you as..my.. enemy really..I wanted us to be friends earlier."   
  
Stephanie looked at him and scowled, "Yeah, I remember that, you snuck into my arena, ate my fruit and said I had nice peaches. You then proceeded to buy tickets to the show and when I stole your raw talent you were outraged so you jumped out of the crowd and tried to get in the ring and attack me," she cocked her head off to the side.  
  
Eric thought back to that night, "Who said I was going to get in the ring and hurt you princess?," he scooted closer.   
  
She noticed the way he was looking at her and it frightened her, she had never been looked at so fondly before other then when Kurt and Hunter looked at her.  
  
"Why are you looking at me like that Eric? You don't like me, you said so yourself," she looked back at him but with confusion in her eyes.   
  
Eric didn't know what to say to her, he had hated her, but he also liked her. She had been the woman he's wanted for the longest time. She was aggressive, beautiful, assertive, strong, and very inviting. He stared at her legs for a moment and then took a bold move and put his hand on her thigh.   
  
"What are you doing?," she asked, putting her hand over his to remove it, but he kept moving it up, leaning against her and kissing her again, she struggled beneath him, trying to push him off of her but he was a lot stronger then her. She knew he was going to have his way with her and no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't fight him off.  
  
Eric then opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. He realized he was laying in his bed, realizing he was alone. It was all a dream. But what did it mean? He sat up in his bed, alone in the dark and it hit him. "I'm in love with Stephanie McMahon?," he questioned himself as he then laid back down in his bed. Thoughts of her engulfed his mind as he began to let his hand roam down to his hard member, allowing himself to fantasize about the Co-Gm and stroke himself to orgasm before going back to sleep.  
  
Author Note: I know, it's naughty. But that's what guys do, we have to face it, they're horny bastards. Snicker I hope you liked this chapter and you aren't disappointed that it was a dream. I couldn't think of ways to get them out so I just had Eric dream it all up to realize he was in love with Stephanie. Those of you who want a HHH/Steph reunion I don't think this will be the right story for you. I'm considering writing a HHH/Steph reuniting type story after this one, but I'm sorta waiting for Steph's return to consider it. Thanks for the reviews! 


	5. Aggressive Behavior

When Eric walked into the GM office the next week he saw Stephanie sitting at her desk, she seemed fairly distracted by the piece of paper in front of her.  
  
She looked up when she felt the presence of someone staring at her, "Hello Eric," she sighed.   
  
"Hi..Stephanie..," he said a little nervously, worrying that somehow she saw right through him.  
  
She went back to reading but looked up again and saw him still looking at her with a nervous expression on his face, "is there something I can help you with Eric or are you just going to stare at me all day?"  
  
Eric snapped out if it then said, "I wasn't staring at you princess, don't flatter yourself! I was just... observing what it was you were looking at! It could be an important document that you weren't going to inform me about!," he looked around the room now a little anxious it seemed.   
  
"What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting differently..," she observed his behavior, trying to think of reasons why he'd be acting so strange.   
  
'It could be that I'm in love with you and you just don't see it, but that would be crazy right? It has to be. I'm not in love with you, I can't be, you're supposed to be my enemy. Plus you're a McMahon, you'd never feel that way about-' Eric continued these thoughts in his head then stopped when he realized the young McMahon was looking at him in a confused manner.  
  
He gulped a little then went back to his desk and sat down, looking at the papers placed in front of him about the upcoming matches and possible contracts, but he couldn't help but glance over at Stephanie now and then and try to figure out what his dream really meant, cause it's impossible for him to be in love with someone he hated, wasn't it?  
  
'You don't hate her, you never did,' he thought to himself, trying to review over the years battling with the princess when she was the GM of Smackdown. Making wisecracks at her, rubbing it in if he were to sign someone she could'nt, or just appearing to try and make the moves on her, it didn't matter what he was doing, he was getting more out it then he thought he would.  
  
It wasn't long till Shawn Michaels walked in the room, a huge grin upon his face as he strutted over to Stephanie McMahon's desk.   
  
Stephanie smiled and stood up, shaking Shawn's hand firmly then letting go, "Hello Shawn, what can I do for you?," she then sat back down and looked up at him.  
  
He leaned over her desk and looked from Bischoff to Stephanie a few times then whispered something in Stephanie's ear causing her to giggle softly.  
  
Eric was extremely jealous, he stood up and walked over to Stephanie and Shawn, "I suggest if you have something to say to the CO GM you should say it to me as well," he folded one hand over the other and waited.   
  
Shawn and Stephanie exchanged glances then Shawn said, "Not that it's any of your business Eric, but I just told Stephanie that I went into Evolution's locker room looking for Hunter and found hand lotion and the newest RAW Magazine with Stephanie on the cover next to it. It seems someone in Evolution is shaking hands with Benjamin Franklin thinking about the princess here," Shawn said before the both of them cracked up, Eric keeping a straight face on.  
  
Eric's cheeks turned slightly red after hearing that and realizing he was no better then whoever it was in Evolution that was fantasizing about Stephanie. He brushed off the conversation and cleared his throat, "Shawn, if you're not here to request a match...I suggest you leave."  
  
"Calm down Bisch, I'm here to request a match," he smirked his usual cocky smirk, "I want a match with Kane. After what he did to me, I think I deserve a match against him in say a ... cage match?," he grinned.  
  
"Name the time and place Shawn," Stephanie said standing up and walking to the front of her desk, leaning against it while looking at Shawn.  
  
"How about - tonight? Tonight is very good for me," he said, then looked over Stephanie a bit, he realized just how lucky of a man HHH was when he had her, she was a very good looking woman.   
  
Eric noticed this and said, "Tonight isn't good for me though. Unforgiven is better for me Shawn, until then, you can't go within 50 feet of Kane or I will give Kane a different opponent," Eric smirked in a cocky way this time, leaving Shawn angry.  
  
"Fine. I'll wait till then, but I demand a match tonight," he sneered at Eric.  
  
Stephanie walked up to Shawn and put her hand on his chest, leading him out toward the door so nothing heated up between Eric and Shawn and someone got hurt, most likely, Eric.  
  
"How about you face Randy Orton tonight as a warm up match Shawn? That would be perfect, you vs Randy Orton tonight, on RAW! Good luck Shawn!," she smiled as they both stood in the doorway.  
  
Shawn winked, "Thanks Stephanie," then walked down the hallway whistling his theme song to himself.  
  
Stephanie shut the door and sighed then walked toward her desk, Eric walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm, " What the hell do you think you're doing? I didn't okay that match Steph!," he was obviously furious.  
  
Stephanie escaped his hold and sneered at him, "You don't have to okay anything except main events and tonight's main event is HHH vs Benoit, remember? Don't be such a prick Eric," she tried to walk passed him but he grabbed her and pulled her toward him, she tried to fight him off, "Let me go Eric, let me go right now!," she screamed, preparing herself to slap him at any moment.  
  
Eric then did something that was very familia to Stephanie, since he had done it before at the Halloween party when she was the General Manager of Smackdown. Pressing his lips tightly against hers Stephanie struggled as much as she could but his grip was very firm on her arms. He dragged her down to the couch with him and tried to grab her breasts, but she kicked and hit her way out of his grasp finally and stood up, smoothing out her clothes.  
  
"What..the hell..was that?," she was shocked and appalled by his actions.  
  
Eric sat up and wiped the light pink lipstick he kissed off of Stephanie's lips on his cheek, looking at Stephanie with confusion and fear in his eyes.  
  
"Well?!," she demanded an answer.   
  
He stood up and walked over to her, he tried to reach out but she backed away, "Don't..touch me," she seemed frightened.  
  
"I didn't mean to-," he started to say, "I just wanted.."  
  
"What Eric? What did you want?," she said in a cocky tone, "Make your move? Get me to shut up? What was it?!," her voice became a little high pitched from yelling at him.  
  
Eric stood there speechless for a moment, he had no idea what he had done. He thought with his dick instead of his head and now he was in a very uncomfortable situation.   
  
They both stood there, speechless. Neither of them knowing what to do about what just happened or what to say to make things less awkward. 


	6. Fess Up

Eric tried to think straight, but all he could think about was how he thought he wasn't out of line from what he did, but if he wanted to keep his job, he would most likely have to apologize for trying to make the moves on the boss's daughter.  
  
"Stephanie, that was a very dumb move, I'm sorry," he sucked it up and tried to sound as sincere as possible, which he wasn't used to one bit.  
  
Stephanie's eyebrow cocked up, she had never known Eric to apologize for anything! Why would he be apologizing for this?  
  
She sighed, "If you touch me again-,"  
  
He held his hands up as if he was saying 'yeah yeah I know', "Then you'll tell your father, I know..I've heard it before," he then walked over to his desk and leaned against it, trying to think.  
  
Stephanie seemed appalled by what he said, "I would not go running to my father Eric, I was just going to say..," she thought for a minute, 'C'mon, you know you didn't mind having your enemy's hands all over you, admit it, you loved every second of it,' part of her was thinking, Stephanie nearly choked on her own words after realizing she was thinking that. How could she? A woman of her high class could never want anything to do with a sleeze like Eric Bischoff could she? 'I'm probably just lonely...' she thought to herself, trying to rush all other thoughts out of her mind.  
  
Eric looked at her, noticing her hesitation, he walked over to her and almost tried to figure her out by looking at her.  
  
"Steph? This is .. this is ridiculous! We hate each other! We're supposed to! That's the way it is, it was Raw vs Smackdown, it should have stayed like that. Working with you shouldn't make me feel anything toward you at all!," he then pressed his lips tightly together, closing his eyes, realizing he just confessed he liked her.   
  
Stephanie's eyes went wide, she backed away until she felt the edge of the couch and sat down, trying to think but at the same time trying not to hear his words repeat in her head.  
  
He hesitantly walked over to her, a few times stopping and wondering if he should just go back to his desk and pretend that never happened. Eric decided to sit next to Stephanie and try and make things right, he needed to make her hate him so much it hurt. That was that. It had to be that way, if it wasn't then things would just be awkward.  
  
"You have feelings for me?," she finally let the words escape her lips a bit of confusion and sadness in her voice.  
  
Eric turned toward her, "It's nothing princess, it just came out, I don't feel a damn thing for you. You're a hearted..bitch! And.. I can't stand you. That's how I really feel about you," he looked away for a moment trying to recollect himself.   
  
Stephanie knew he was lying, "Don't bullshit me Eric, I heard what you said. You have feelings for me and now that I know you're trying to hide it. I've been there believe me. I wish you didn't-"  
  
"I wish I didn't feel the way I do about you Stephanie, but after so many fantasies and dreams about you I knew it was true. I... damnit this isn't easy...," Eric became frustrated, he never had to admit to a woman he liked her, there was just usual flirting, sex, then move on. But with Stephanie it was as though he felt a hammer hit his heart over and over again, and it killed him. He hated feeling this way about her, it highly disturbed him. 'This woman is almost old enough to be your daughter, what the hell are you thinking?' he told himself.  
  
"I don't think I want to hear this," she stood up, "I know I've always wanted to hurt your pride Eric, get the best ratings, and to destroy you slowly when I was the GM of Smackdown, but since I have to work with you every week..I don't want to know what it is I think your going to tell me. I can't.," Stephanie went back to her desk and sat down.  
  
'Maybe she was right,' he thought to himself, 'it's best she didn't know.'  
  
That night was very uncomfortable for the both of them, they both tried to avoid each other as much as possible until things smoothed over, if someone wanted a match, Stephanie let Eric take care of it as long as she didn't have to say a word to him.  
  
**1am** Stephanie laid in her queen bed at the hotel after the show. Holding onto the pillow tightly she let a single teardrop fell down her cheek, knowing she would be alone again tonight, she was usually used to this after her divorce, but for some reason it hurt her the most tonight.  
  
Eric walked up to the counter to check in and part of him felt guilty for making Stephanie feel so down today but the other part wanted her and knew that he shouldn't feel guilty for lusting after a gorgeous woman, he was a man, he shouldn't feel bad at all, why should he?  
  
"Which room is Stephanie McMahon in?," he asked the woman behind the counter.  
  
"I'm not allowed to give such information a way Mr. Bischoff," she said politely.  
  
"You don't understand, I have to speak to her. We work together. I have something very important to go over with, with her. Can you please tell me where I can find her?," he asked her again.  
  
She sighed, "Alright, but don't tell my manager I told you. She's staying in room 214, she checked in about 30 minutes ago."  
  
Eric smiled then took his key to his room and shoved it in his pocket, he stepped into the elevator and pressed the 2 button. He waited and hummed softly to himself until he heard a _ding_. He smiled then stepped out of the elevator, walking to room 214. He knocked on the door a few times, then waited.  
  
Stephanie heard a few knocks on the door and yawned, stretched a little, then pulled the covers off of her. She placed her feet firmly on the floor then walked over to the door to answer it, she opened it up just a crack and saw a familiar smiling face standing at her door.  
  
"Eric, what do you want?," she said, obviously tired.  
  
He gently shoved passed her and looked around the hotel room she was staying at, "Good choice Steph, really nice."  
  
He looked over and saw that Stephanie was just in her revealing white nightgown and trying to cover herself up. He smiled as he looked her over, Stephanie's cheeks turned a light shade of red as she noticed him looking her over.  
  
"Would you stop that? It's really gross," she said, trying to insult him, getting back to the old ways of them making fun of each other because they can.  
  
He smiled then walked over to her, "I can't help it Stephanie, you're in a very revealing nightgown, any man would have done the same thing I'm sure," he gave her his best cocky smirk.  
  
"Get out Eric," she said as she walked over toward the door, Eric beating her to it, he laid against it and put his arm around her waist, bringing her to him.  
  
She felt anger and part of her lust rush over her, knowing that the only man who has ever touched her the way Eric was trying to was Hunter. What Jericho had said about her all those years were never true, the only man she had been with was Hunter, and they were married.  
  
Eric ran his hand down farther to her butt, bringing her closer as he began kissing her neck, his hands now roaming up her nightgown to her naked body. He started removing his jacket and undoing his pants. Stephanie watched him for a moment then realized what she was about to do, "Get out Eric, please, just leave..," she said, realizing his black boxers were showing through his pants which were almost halfway down his body.  
  
"Did I do something wrong?," he asked, obviously hurt she was rejecting him after he started getting undressed, 'did she not like what she saw?' he asked himself as he pulled up his pants, zipping them back up.  
  
"Eric, I'm not like other girls. I'm not going to sleep with you to get ahead in the business, and I don't...," she paused, trying to hold back from crying, "I don't...have any feelings for you," she said through glassy eyes.  
  
Eric could see right through her, it was more then obvious she was lying, just as he had been since he met her. It's impossible for either of them to lie to each other any longer, Eric had to be the one to say it.   
  
"I'm in love with you Stephanie. I don't like it, but I am. I hate being so lovesick over someone who is the daughter of a man who I've hated for many years and competed with. I can't explain it Steph, it's just.. it's hard to ignore," he tried to explain as he paced around the room.  
  
Stephanie couldn't think of anything to do about this, she felt so confused. She didn't know if she should still make him leave, or comfort him in knowing that they both feel the same way about each other.  
  
"This is a very awkward moment if I do say so myself," Stephanie half laughed, realizing Eric was looking at her with confusion.  
  
"Do you honestly feel anything for me Stephanie? Please, I won't make any wise ass remarks, just .. tell me..," he walked up to her and put his hands on both of her arms, "Do you have feelings for me?"   
  
**Author Note:** Dun Dun Dun! Will she admit it? Should she admit it? Hmmm I'm not quite sure yet! Sorry it took so long to update, I've been out and about, plus I've been wanting to work on a 10th Kingdom Fanfic as well as a Collateral one. But I do intend on finishing this one first before starting another one. But it's getting close! THANK YOU for all the reviews everyone! I'm glad to see some Eric/Stephanie shippers out there, I can't seem to find many, plus it's rare to find fanfiction on them. But if anyone can find any please e-mail em to me, I'd LOVE to read em! Thanks! 


	7. Jealousy

  
  
Eric searched Stephanie's deep blue eyes for an answer, he lips were sealed so tight it looked like they were super glued together. Eric finally decided to leave, knowing she wouldn't say a word to him, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.  
  
"Wait, Eric-," she walked over to him and looked down, seeming a little disappointed.   
  
Eric expected an answer, but Stephanie just changed the subject, "I'll see you Monday," she half-smiled, trying to make him feel better, which obviously didn't work from the look on his face.  
  
Eric was extremely disappointed, he left her hotel room and went back to his suite, sitting on the edge of the bed thinking about the way he handled things back at her hotel room. Maybe he shouldn't have said he liked her? He couldn't help but admit it, it had been burning a hole in him since she was the General Manager of Smackdown, how could he hold it back any longer? It was going to be very awkward seeing her next week.  
  
**6 am**  
  
Eric was awoken by a knock at the door, it seemed the person at the door was very persistent, so he wobbled up out of bed, stretching a bit, then rushed over to the door, thinking it could possibly be Stephanie, but instead he was greeted by Gail Kim. Eric's smile turned to a frown quickly, then looked over at the time, it was very early in the morning, what could she possibly need?  
  
Gail smiled at Eric, then looked him up and down realizing he was only wearing a t-shirt and boxers, "Good morning Mr. Bischoff," she smiled the licked her lips.  
  
"Morning Gail, what can I do for you?," he yawned a little.  
  
"Can I come in?," she asked sweetly.   
  
"Yeah, sure...," he opened the door wider so she could come in, he walked over to his suitcase and put on some jeans.  
  
"Nice suite Eric, I bet Stephanie doesn't get the treatment you do," she joked.  
  
"What about Stephanie?," he asked her curiously.  
  
"I was joking Eric," she walked up to him and placed both hands on her chest, "What I'm here about is a Women's title shot, I know I had a match last week against a few other divas but I thought I could get physical with the Women's Champion one on one," she tried to make that sound dirty and Eric realized that, his eyebrows went up a bit.   
  
"Well, Gail, I don't think I can do that. There's already a number one contender for the title, and you aren't it," he stretched a bit, moving away from Gail.  
  
She was extremely persistent, "But Eric, I'd do _anything_ to get that spot," she started taking off her coat, then started at her top, but Eric stopped her.  
  
"I don't know what kind of business man you think I am Gail-," he said laughing a little.  
  
"I know what kind of man you are Eric," she pulled her shirt down, deciding seducing him wouldn't work, it was probably way too early, "You wanted to get into Trish's pants as well as Lita's! Am I not attractive to you? I may not have large breasts like Trish or Lita but -"  
  
All Eric could hear was, "blah blah I'm not attractive, Trish, etc, etc, Lita... yada yada."  
  
"Okay, I admit, I did like Trish and Lita, they're nice to look at but when they open their mouths they aren't so attractive," he smirked, "As for you my dear, you can have your title shot, in two weeks, and next time...," he talked as he lead her out the door, "Don't bother me in my hotel suite when I'm trying to sleep!," he then shut the door behind her. Gail huffed then walked off, heading back to her hotel room.  
  
Eric took off his pants again and was about to lay down in his bed when he heard another knock at the door, he sighed to himself, "Will I never get any damn sleep?!," he then walked over to the door quickly so he could get back to his rest, opening it this time he saw Stephanie, and surprisingly in jeans and a low cut black shirt. Eric looked her up and down then smiled, "Steph..," he gulped a little, wondering what it is she wanted to say to him.   
  
Before Eric could say anything she allowed herself into his room, he stopped for a moment then shut the door behind her, watching her as she paced around a bit before finally speaking.  
  
"Eric, I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings the other night. I didn't take that into consideration and well, I lied about ..," she paused then sighed, "I lied about not having feelings for you."  
  
Eric walked over to her and put his hand on her hip, bringing her close to him, "I knew you were lying," he smiled then leaned in to kiss her, but her eyes wandered to the long black coat sitting on the ground behind him.   
  
Stephanie's eyebrows tilted down as a look of anger formed on her face, Eric spotted this quickly and let go of her, wondering what he possibly could have done to piss her off.  
  
"Should I even ask what's wrong now?," he seemed very annoyed by her temper, but she did get it from her Father. Eric made sure to keep a safe distance from the beautiful McMahon just in case.   
  
Stephanie walked over to the coat and picked it up, "What the _hell_ is this?!," she screamed, hold it up directly toward Eric.   
  
Eric was dumbfounded, then he realized it was Gail's jacket, she had left it in his hotel room as she was trying to - 'oh no, she thinks I had another woman in here! Shit!,' he thought to himself.  
  
"Well!? Are you screwing another employee Eric?! Are you?!," she shouted, then throwing the coat at him, "I'm through, I don't want to play this game with you," she then headed for the door.  
  
Eric ran up to her and grabbed her by the arm, "I can explain Stephanie! Wait!," he turned her around.  
  
She gave him the oh so famous McMahon glare and sneered, "You have 30 seconds."  
  
Eric sighed, "Look, Gail Kim came in here and tried to seduce me to get a title shot and when I said no she left, and she must've forgotten her coat, honestly Stephanie, that's what happened!"  
  
Stephanie was still glaring at him, "I don't believe you Eric, I can't trust you. I don't see any reason why I should either."  
  
Eric closed his eyes and realized he was in deep shit. Stephanie truly believed he slept with Gail Kim, not only because of his reputation but because of the way he acted toward women, preferably the divas.   
  
Before he knew it she was gone, all because of that bitch Gail Kim trying to sleep her way to the top, Eric was furious, he could've been with Stephanie, she was about to finally admit she felt something for him, but because of what just happened she may never tell him the truth. Eric sat on his bed and tried to think of ways to win her over, it didn't take long for him to come up with a plan. 'Unforgiven,' he thought to himself, 'perfect.'  
  
The Pay Per View had just started as Stephanie walked into the office of the arena in Portland, Oregon. She was wearing a short dark blue denim skirt and a white short sleeve button up shirt with two buttons at the top undone and matching black high heels, her hair slightly wavy, flowing down to her back. Eric watched her enter the room and already felt a little nervous but excited at the same time, knowing his plan would soon take place.  
  
It wasn't long after Stephanie sat down on the couch with a cup of black coffee at hand that there was a knock on the door, "Come In," Eric invited whoever it was into the office.   
  
Shawn Michaels walked in with a cocky smirk, when Eric realized it was him he seemed extremely disappointed, "Shawn Michaels, what could you possibly need?," he asked in a witty, sarcastic tone.  
  
Shawn kept smiling then said, "I don't need anything from you in particular Eric, I need something from Stephanie," he then sat next to Stephanie as she looked at him, a smile forming on her face.  
  
"What can I help you with Shawn?," she asked.  
  
Shawn moved closer to Stephanie, "Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going out on a date with me tonight after the show. I'd love to show you a good time," he put his hand on her leg, rubbing it gently.  
  
Eric was outrageously jealous, "Get the hell out of my office now Shawn!," Eric pointed to the door, "Get out!"  
  
Shawn looked up at him and glared, "I don't think Stephanie wants me to leave Eric, so I believe I'm going to stay," he grinned.   
  
"Shawn, I'd love to go out with you after the show," Stephanie then leaned in and looked like she was hugging him, but whispered something into his ear, "Let's make Eric so jealous he'll crack," she whispered.  
  
They both broke the embrace and Shawn laughed a little and stood up, "See you later tonight 'honey'," he said before leaving the office, heading back to his locker room.  
  
Stephanie smiled and went back to drinking her coffee, Eric walked over and sat next to her, putting his arm up on the couch, "Please tell me you aren't actually going to go out with him tonight," he tried to laugh it off.   
  
"Oh I'm going out with him tonight Eric, you can't stop me."  
  
His grin turned to a frown, "I guess all the rumors were right about you Stephanie, your nothing more then a dirty, filthy, disgusting.. slut!," he then stood up and walked over to his desk, and went back to his paper work.  
  
Stephanie laughed a little then walked over to his desk, leaning down, "So when I go out with Shawn then I'm a slut, but if I were to go out with you, I wouldn't be?," she smirked, "You're an asshole Eric, but at least I'm not the one who sleeps with people who want to get ahead in the business," she glared.  
  
Eric stood up and looked her in the eyes, "you're right Stephanie, you do something else - you tease. You're a complete tease. Making wrestlers believe they have a chance with you, flaunting around them like you don't know how attractive you are, but you use it Stephanie, you use it to your advantage. That's the type of person," he paused, "you are."  
  
Stephanie's eyes became glassy, she tried not to get upset from the words he said, but she knew that at a time that's how men probably perceived her, as a tramp. She couldn't bare to look at him anymore, Stephanie turned around stormed out of the office, heading toward the ring. "So much for my plan," Eric mumbled to himself.  
  
"All Grown Up" played as Stephanie walked out to the ring, the fans noticed she seemed very distracted and displaced more then usual as she entered the ring, doing her usual taunt. She received a microphone then began to speak.  
  
"Tonight you will see the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels (fans cheer loudly) face Kane!," she paced a little, "And I have a special announcement to make, not only will Lita be at ringside, I will be the guest commentator to make sure nothing screwy goes on. Michaels, Kane, good luck on your match tonight."  
  
Stephanie handed the microphone to the ring announcer then left the ring, heading back to the office area, where Eric was impatiently waiting for her.  
  
"Stephanie, what the hell do you think your doing?! You could get hurt out there! Kane is sick! He could hurt you if you did something wrong! I know you'll interfere since your 'friend' is going to be in the ring, but..this is just unbelievable, again, you didn't check with me before you made a huge decision on a match!," he overexaggerated the situation.  
  
Stephanie laughed, "That's funny Eric, you being concerned about me, after what you said I'd think you'd like to see me get hurt. Since you've done it before. Or do you not remember having Rosey and Jamal slam me down into the mat when I was the GM of Smackdown?! I remember very well, but you never had the balls to do anything yourself. You always had someone do your dirty work for you," one eyebrow raised up, as to say, ' I just had the last laugh.'  
  
Eric was furious, he walked over to Stephanie and glared, "I would never hurt you Stephanie."  
  
"That's funny Eric, cause you have hurt me a lot over the past years, you just haven't realized it," she kept a straight face on then turned around and walked over to her desk, sitting down with a notebook, trying to decide on matches for Raw. Eric just watched her, and realized he had hurt her so many times, but he would make it up to her, somehow he would.  
  
**Author note:** correction on the chapter where I said Stephanie was old enough to be Eric's daughter, I meant young enough. Dur how dumb of me. As for the being locked in the arena thing, I just thought It'd be humorous, I never meant to copy the story where they get snowed in together, plus Eric was being far too nice to her, so it ended up being a dream. I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. I love this pairing and for some reason it just makes sense to me. Thanks again to everyone for the wonderful reviews! Hands all the reviewers a 'fanfiction cookie,' whatever that is 


	8. Mind Games

By the time the Pay Per View was over Stephanie had officially confused Bischoff more then he's ever been confused in his entire life.  
  
First she accepted Shawn Michaels date proposal, then the camera men caught her talking to Kurt Angle and looking more then friendly with him backstage, and the icing on the cake was her flirtation with RVD about his upcoming match! Was she trying to make him jealous? Or was she just trying to show him that she could easily have any guy she wanted?  
  
Not only did the camera guys catch her flirting with Kurt and Shawn, but she was caught leaving Evolutions locker room as well. That would have to be the most confusing part to Eric. Why would she be in her ex husband's locker room? So many questions went through his head as he watched the Pay Per View end.   
  
Stephanie giggled as she walked into the office, sitting down on the couch and starting to play around with her hair a little. Eric observed her behavior and sneered, wondering why he was becoming so jealous over her flirtation with other men. It's not like they were together, and now it seemed like the chance of a relationship between the two was slipping farther and farther away. He had to try and keep Stephanie at the arena so she wouldn't go out with Shawn. He knew it would drive him crazy if she did.  
  
Stephanie stood up and grabbed her purse, "Goodnight Eric." she smiled then headed toward the door.  
  
"Stephanie, wait!," he stood up and rushed over to her, "Why don't you stay a little longer? I could use some help with the main event next week."  
  
She smiled, 'my plan is working,' she thought to herself. "Don't you remember Eric? I have a date with Shawn tonight, I'm sure he's really exhausted after his match, I'm thinking I might give him some TLC when we get back to his hotel room. But, (pause) what do you care?," she shrugged it off then started heading for the door again.  
  
Eric rushed over and leaned against the door, Stephanie stopped and looked at him with a curious smile, "Something wrong Eric?"  
  
Eric searched Stephanie's eyes and realized she knew how crazy she was making him by being so flirtacious with other men. Stephanie had also done the same thing to HHH, flirting with Kurt Angle made him realize how much he didn't want to lose her, but in the end he grew tired of her flirtations with other men, Kurt, the members of ECW when she was the 'owner' of it for a short period of time. She knew what she was doing, and it was driving him crazy.  
  
Eric grabbed her by the arm and pressed her up against the door this time, putting his arm up so she wouldn't be able to escape, using the other to hold on to her, leaning in.  
  
She bit her lip a little, tilting her head off to the side, "Eric, let me go." She glared.  
  
He grinned deviously, "You're not going anywhere princess," he allowed himself to press his body against hers, leaning in toward her soft lips.  
  
She broke the moment by putting her hands against his chest and shoving him away, "Eric, I don't want you to bullshit me, I know the kind of man you are."  
  
Eric's grin turned sour fast, "Okay, Stephanie, you know what? Fine, I'll admit it. I did sleep with Gail, when she first entered the WWE I slept with her cause she thought it would kick up her career. Unfortunately, it didn't."  
  
Stephanie's scowl became more intimidating then he thought it would be, she seemed even angrier that the rumors were in fact true. He did try and offer a better career to the women who worked for him if they slept with him. Stephanie found herself being more disgusted with him then she thought she could ever be with even the likes of Chris Jericho.  
  
"You _disgust_ me Eric." She opened the door and rushed out as fast as she could.  
  
Eric stood there and sighed, for once he had told the truth and it bit him in the ass for doing so. Stephanie would be seduced by Shawn that night and he wouldn't be able to stop it, he would lose her forever.  
  
Stephanie left the arena and turned back a few times to make sure she wasn't being followed, a long black limo pulled up slowly. The driver stopped the car and rushed out of the limo to open the door for Shawn Michaels to get out of.  
  
Shawn smirked as he looked over at Stephanie. They both exchange glances and she walkd over, looking him up and down for a moment. He was wearing tight blue jeans with a cowboy belt, and a white t-shirt that showed off all his muscles. He had his hair back in a pony tail so it was easier to see his stunning white smile and blue green eyes. Shawn was a very attractive man, there was no doubt about it. They didn't call him the heartbreak kid for nothing.  
  
Shawn cocked his head to the side a bit as he looked at her, "You look great sweetheart, is the plan going by properly?" He smirked.   
  
Stephanie walked up to him and smiled, "He's more jealous then I thought he would be, and now he regrets being an asshole to the divas, I'm sure. If not, I don't know what else I could do to make him feel like any less of a man. We'll seal the deal Monday night."  
  
Shawn nodded then said, "Let's go," he walked over to the limo and held the door open for Stephanie as she ducked under and entered, Shawn ran over to the other side and entered. They exchanged looks and laughed quietly to themselves.  
  
"I'm so glad you volunteered for this Shawn, I couldn't think of anyone who could pull this off like you could," she looked at him with admiration this time, Shawn had always been a man she respected, he had always been a great friend to her when she was married to Hunter, and he was still her friend through thick and thin. No one ever saw the friendship out in the open though, it would be too risky and would probably start rumors. If the fans didn't know they've been friends for a long time, it would be even more convincing for what they were planning to do next Monday Night.  
  
Stephanie and Shawn went to the lounge area at the hotel they stayed at and talked about their plan to make Eric change his ways of womanizing and belittling those who he felt weren't good enough to make it in the business unless they gave him sexual attention.  
  
Raw seemed to come faster then expected, Stephanie and Shawn prepared to be as convincing as they could be when the time came for the last 30 minutes of the show. Stephanie had been sitting at her desk, seeming completely uninterested in Eric the entire night, which made him wonder about the night she had the "date" with Shawn.  
  
"You never told me how the date went." Eric shot a look of obvious jealousy and curiosity at Stephanie.  
  
"That's because it's none of your business Eric, just like it was none of my business when it comes to how many women you proposition to sleep with you so they can get ahead in the business now is it?," she took a pen and started writing something down.  
  
Eric stood up and walked over to her and leaned against the desk, "Stephanie, if I would have known my feelings for you sooner .."  
  
Stephanie stood up and seemed aggravated, "What Eric? What would you have done differently hmm? Nothing. You're a pig Bischoff. I've watched you on Raw before I came back. I saw how you treated women. It's disgusting, and I don't want to work with someone who acts that way toward the divas here, you should treat them no differently then the men. I wasn't treated any differently. I had to be in intergender tag team matches and no one said to me, "Well if you sleep with me I promise I won't put you in the match," or "They'll go easy on it, I'm sure." But I didn't want that anyways Eric. I wanted to be treated fairly. That was all I needed. You don't treat these women fairly. I'm going to put a stop to that."  
  
Eric's eyes went wide, not knowing Stephanie had so much to say about Women's wrestling. It was very surprising to him. This was one of the reasons he liked her so much, she stood up to him. No woman has ever even tried to stand up to him. A few have slapped him, sure, but no one has actually outsmarted him or felt strongly about a subject they wanted to actually debate about with him.  
  
A smile formed on his lips slowly as he realized this, Stephanie sneered at him.  
  
"Did I say something funny!?," she hissed.  
  
He stood up and inched closer to her, "That's what I love about you Stephanie. It's always interesting when you open your mouth and something intelligent actually comes out instead of the usual bullshit women try to make me understand."  
  
Stephanie couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic, a smart ass, or being serious. So she just stood there bewildered. Not knowing what to say next.  
  
Eric saw this and pointed it out, "What's wrong Stephanie? You don't like compliments?"  
  
Stephanie's lips curled up in disgust before she turned and left the office, slamming the door behind her.   
  
Shawn kept his locker room door open, knowing Stephanie would come in at any time. Suddenly she sauntered in slowly and smiled, looking around before making her move and spotting the camera men following her, Stephanie and Shawn exchanged glances and went straight to the plan.  
  
Shawn walked over to Stephanie in a slow, seductive manner and put his arms around her waist, kissing her lips sweetly as the camera men made sure to zoom in on the smooch backstage. Stephanie moaned as he kissed her, trying to make it sound as pleasurable as possible, the more convincing it was for the audience and the men backstage, the easier it would be to go through with it without any questioning from anyone.   
  
The kiss was broken slowly and they looked into each other's eyes. Stephanie leaned in and looked as if she was hugging him but whispered, "Do you think that was convincing enough?"  
  
Backstage Eric was shown in his office looking at the monitor, angry as hell after seeing what just went down. This was way too far for him, he had to take action, and now.  
  



	9. Crazy For You

That night Shawn Michaels had a match against Batista, with Stephanie in his corner. The bell rang twice for the match to begin. Stephanie was in an unusual attire for her change of style from when she was married to HHH in a transition to a business woman state. She had worn leather pants, high heels, and a deep pink t-shirt. During the match she cheered him on and clapped, distracted the referee, her usual she used to do for Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, HHH, and the members of ECW when need be.  
  
It was near the end of the match when Eric ran down the ramp, sneaking up behind Stephanie, who was oblivious to his presence. Until he grabbed her by the waist and started trying to pull her backstage. Stephanie kicked and screamed, then turned around and not knowing who was holding onto her, slapped the dark haired General Manager behind her.  
  
Stephanie then stopped, her eyes went wide and she covered her mouth, reaching out to touch his cheek, "Eric?!"  
  
Eric snapped, he sneered at her and mouthed, 'you bitch' then quickly picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Shawn quickly saw this and jumped out of the ring, chasing after Eric.  
  
Stephanie kicked and hit Eric, outraged he was trying to carry her backstage away from the match. Shawn ran up behind them and jump kicked Eric on the back. Stephanie and Eric both fell down onto the hard rampway.  
  
Stephanie held her head in pain, Shawn quickly checked on her and touched her face gently, not even realizing the match had ended and he was disqualified for being out of the ring for more then 10 seconds.  
  
Eric stumbled up and attacked Shawn, they exchanged blows as the fans watched on, wondering what could have possibly started this to begin with. Slowly Stephanie forced herself to stand up. She held her back in pain but when she realized Eric and Shawn were duking it out, she had to stop it.  
  
Stephanie yelled at them, demanding they stop fighting, but it obviously wasn't working. She quickly grabbed Eric by the arm and tried with all her strength to separate the two, as well as the referees who came down to help out.  
  
Finally the two were separated, Eric and Shawn exchanged obscenities back and forth between Stephanie who was right in the middle of the mess. The refs dragged them both backstage, trying to keep one from the other.  
  
A half hour later everything was a bit more calm. Stephanie finally swallowed her pride and decided to enter the General Manager office she shared with Eric.  
  
'Maybe I should tell him about everything, he should know...this wasn't supposed to happen...,' she thought to herself. Finally she knocked quietly, almost hoping Eric wouldn't hear her.  
  
"Come in." He called out, angrily.  
  
Stephanie slowly entered and shut the door quietly. Eric looked up and shot her the dirtiest look he's given anyone. She walked over slowly and tried to keep a serious face on instead of sympathetic. She didn't know why he had tried to take her backstage, away from Shawn.  
  
"What is it McMahon!?," he scowled, calling her by her last name.  
  
Stephanie's ears shot up as if she had just been called something horrible. He had never referred to her as "McMahon" it was always "Steph, Stephanie, or Ms. McMahon" which was rare.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking? Why did you come down to the ring when you knew I was out there and you start a fight with Shawn, and try to carry me off?! What were you thinking?!," she screeched.  
  
Eric's eyes were full of hate and anger, he quickly rose up and looked Stephanie in the eyes, searching for the reason why she really came in here.  
  
"If the only reason you came in here was to yell at me and demand to know why this and why that, then get the hell out of my office," Eric pointed to the door, "Get out."  
  
Stephanie walked over toward him and inched closer, her eyes never leaving his, "Tell me why. This is the last time I am going to ask."  
  
Eric let his eyes wander over her, he said it before he shouldn't have to repeat himself. It would make him feel like less of a man if he was rejected again. "I told you already Stephanie."  
  
She looked off to the side, biting her lip to stop herself from yelling at the top of her lungs about how much of a jackass he was being. "Eric, you never said anything about attacking Shawn."  
  
He had heard enough, Eric decided it was time to just spill everything then see what her reaction really was.  
  
"Okay, Stephanie, this is what went on. I saw what you've been doing the past few weeks. Flirting with all the superstars backstage, knowing I was watching you do this, acting all moody toward me, more then usual I might add, and then - the icing on the cake. You started dating Shawn Michaels. That's when I decided I've had enough. I ran down to the ring, tried to grab you backstage to tell you that....," he paused for a moment, looking around the room, making sure no one was in there recording this, it would ruin his reputation for sure, "I was going to tell you I didn't think Shawn was good enough for you."  
  
Stephanie was shocked, her lips parted to speak but nothing came out. Finally she processed everything and decided to speak, "You don't think Shawn is good enough for me? Who do you think is good enough for me Eric? Tell me."  
  
Eric took Stephanie by the arm and lead her down over to the couch, they both sat down and he looked at her, trying to hold the words back. 'I should just say something cruel then make her move on, it's what I've always done. Say something rude to make her leave, you'll lose her forever, but it would be worth it, right?'  
  
"Eric?," she said softly, "What is it?"  
  
He brushed his fingers through his hair a few times then finally turned to her, "Stephanie, the only man I think is good enough for you is..," he paused, thinking of shooting out an insult but instead told her the truth. "I think I'm the only one good enough for you."  
  
Stephanie couldn't believe it. She knew he told her he had feelings for her, but she thought he was lying to get into her pants. But why would he go through all this trouble if all he wanted was to sleep with her?  
  
"Did you sleep with Gail Kim that night I came to your hotel room?," her eyes locked with his.  
  
"No, I didn't, she was trying to sleep with me again so that way she could have her match," he said with total honesty, trying not to see the sadness in Stephanie's eyes from knowing he slept with some of the divas on RAW.  
  
She quickly turned away, trying to rethink everything that just happened.  
  
"Attacking Shawn was never part of my plan, he was just .. in the way," Eric laughed a little, "You know how I -"  
  
"It was all a plan Eric," she finally said, her voice low, and wispy.  
  
"What was a plan?," he asked her, getting closer to her, "Stephanie.." he reached out to touch her arm gently.  
  
Stephanie stood up quickly, "Eric, I never meant for it to turn out this way. I was just trying to make you jealous. I should have stopped after the flirting, I knew what I was doing, and I knew it upset you, but I did it anyways. I was jealous you were sleeping around with all the divas here and -"  
  
Eric cut her off, "I never slept with all of them, a few maybe, but not all of them. And what the hell do you mean you were trying to make me jealous? It already made me jealous that you had a lot of attention from the RAW superstars when I thought none of them even liked you Princess."  
  
Stephanie sighed, "I tried to make you see how unfairly you were treating these women here on RAW. I didn't want to work with someone who treated women like objects Eric. I guess my plan failed though, I can't seem to get through to you."  
  
He was outraged, for once he had been tricked. Eric Bischoff. Tricked by a McMahon. The more he thought about it the angrier he became.  
  
"And you think I wasn't jealous of HHH for a long time Steph?! You think I didn't envy the man who had you for over a year? He saw you as his possession. His trophy. He was getting more admiration and respect from people because he was screwing the boss's daughter! You didn't see it, but everyone else did. He didn't love you. He used you to get to the top! Didn't you notice all those times he had the gold you were by his side? Have you ever considered that Stephanie?!," Eric yelled, trying to get his point through.  
  
Stephanie had already started crying, thinking back to when she was married to Hunter and how everything Eric had just said made sense. Everyone did admire Hunter for being with her, but it wasn't because she was a good person. She knew back then she was a bitch, and dressed a little slutty, HHH was sleeping with her and that's what everyone knew was getting him all the title shots and main events.  
  
Eric looked at Stephanie and saw the teardrops fall down her face, he had never seen her cry before at his expense. He had seen a lot of videos of when she was with HHH and how he was constantly yelling at her and making her cry but Eric never wanted to cause her any grief.  
  
"Stephanie," he walked over to her and tried to comfort her, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"  
  
Stephanie jerked away from his touch, "I hate you Eric, stay the hell away from me!," she screamed. She knew a lot of this was her fault, but after what he said about her and HHH when they were married, at the moment she couldn't forgive him. Everything was happening way too fast.  
  
Stephanie turned and left the office as fast as she could, leaving Eric cursing to himself under his breath, wondering what he could do to make things right again, but part of him told him that it would be impossible to reach Stephanie. After all, she is a McMahon.  
  
Eric looked everywhere for Stephanie that night, he hadn't heard anything about her leaving the arena, and everyone he asked hadn't seen her. It was possible they could be covering for her, the only place he hadn't checked was Shawn Michaels locker room. The last thing he wanted was to start something with him again. But if he wanted to talk to Stephanie, he'd have to see if she was in there.  
  
Eric stopped at the door that said, "Shawn Michaels" on it, he paused before knocking then sighed and waited. To his surprise it was Stephanie that answered it, not Shawn.  
  
When Stephanie saw it was Eric at the door, she tried to close it on him but before she could completely close it Eric allowed himself in, looking around to make sure Shawn Michaels wasn't there.  
  
"Eric, please get out, I don't want to talk to you..," she started to head toward the door, but Eric moved in front of her.  
  
"Get out of my way," she demanded. She then tried to move past him, but he moved in front of her again. "Eric, I mean it!"  
  
Eric wouldn't move, he had to talk to her and let her know he didn't mean the things he said, even if they were true. "Stephanie, we're going to have work together so we have to, sadly, get along. I'm not letting you move unless-"  
  
Eric was shut up quickly by Stephanie's lips pressing against his. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly, his hands running up and down her back, never wanting it to end. Stephanie broke the embrace and looked into his eyes, neither of them knowing what to say or do next.  
  
**Authors Notes:** Ah, how I loved writing this chapter. There will only be one left (I'm thinking) so I'm trying to make it the best one. Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! These are the most reviews I've ever received on any of my Steph/Eric stories! And I must have at least 5 stories up on fanfiction dot net (I think). I'm glad to see more Eric/Steph shippers out there! Be proud, it's a great pairing I think! And hopefully one day they'll start the storyline again when Steph comes back on tv! --Throws confetti for those who reviewed and everyone who likes Eric/Steph-- 


	10. I Only Want You

Eric pulled away from Stephanie, looking at her for a moment. 'She kissed me' he thought to himself over and over again, 'I wasn't the one who made the move this time, it was her,' there a look of shock on his face and confusion, "Steph, what was ..."  
  
"Eric, I'm sorry, that was out of line," she apologized.  
  
Eric walked up to her and touched her face gently, "I don't see how that could be out of line at all Steph..," he leaned in to kiss her, but this time she pulled away.  
  
"Okay, enough of the confusing bullshit princess, what is it? You like me or you don't like me? You can't just pull away, change the subject, or say you hate me every time something doesn't go as you planned! I never planned for this! You think I did? You think I wanted to fall in love with you?," Eric started showing his true colors Stephanie knew all along.  
  
"Eric, this is way too complicated. You're older then me and .. Vince would kill you," she stated honestly.  
  
Eric took her by the hand and brought her closer to him, "I don't care what your father thinks, if you haven't noticed. And if you don't remember correctly, he was the one who ended your career as the GM of Smackdown! So why should you care if your father finds out? If I were you I would've used me to get him back for what he did to you."  
  
Stephanie smiled, that was a very good idea, but she wouldn't do that, not again. She admitted to herself she did love Hunter, but in the beginning, she had used him just to piss off her father, this wouldn't be any different.  
  
Eric looked Stephanie over as she thought about what to do next, she finally sighed then said, "Eric, I'm not exactly the best person to be in a relationship with. If you haven't talked to Hunter enough, believe me, I make people miserable and hate me in the end. I'm unlucky in relationships," she threw her arms down on her sides as if she just gave up. "It's best you don't get involved with me."  
  
Eric walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly. Stephanie let out a soft sigh, it was nice being comforted for once instead of being the person who comforts everyone else. Even if it was a bit awkward for them to be hugging. They both felt that very weird, nervous feeling in the pit of their stomachs, neither of them knowing what they were doing.  
  
Stephanie broke the embrace slowly, Eric kissed her sweetly, but this time she didn't kiss back. Stephanie pulled away and looked down, trying to think of why she felt so bad for being with him, even if it was for a few moments.  
  
Eric just looked at her and then their surroundings, realizing they were still in Shawn Michael's dressing room. "Maybe we should go back to the office," he said suggestively. "You know, where Shawn Michaels is less likely to walk right in and kick my ass."  
  
Stephanie half smiled and considered saying she was going to wait for Shawn in his locker room, but instead she agreed silently and followed him to their office. Eric opened the door for her as she entered and placed her hands on her hips, walking around the room trying to figure out what to do next.  
  
Eric had ideas of his own, he quickly shut the door behind him and slowly locked it. Stephanie's eyebrow arched up, realizing Eric was going to try and seduce her.  
  
"Eric, I don't think this would be very professional.." she began to back up a little until her backside hit his desk, a soft _bump_ resulting in it.  
  
Eric walked over to her slowly and rested his hands on her hips, he started to kiss her neck slowly and seductively. Stephanie let out a soft moan, "Mmm, oh Eric.."  
  
She felt Eric's hands roam up her stomach to her breasts, feeling them firmly. He gently removed her shirt above her head, exposing her white patterned bra. "Victoria's Secret?," he smirked, an eyebrow raising up.  
  
"Number one customer," she pointed to herself proudly.  
  
Eric took off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt. Steph watched and admired the fact that a man his age had such nice style. Black clothes were always a bit of a turn on for her, maybe it just looked good on men, she didn't know, but it looked damn good on him.  
  
Eric started removing her skirt slowly, admiring every inch of her body as he slid the skirt off. His eyes wandering over her entire figure. Stephanie tried not to look embarrassed, but she realized the only man she had ever undressed for was her ex husband, she didn't know how Eric would react to her curvy figure.  
  
Eric's reaction showed up quite a while ago, a very large bulge appeared in his dark blue jeans that Stephanie hadn't noticed until now. A big smile spread across her face, "Wow..Eric..." She smiled then slowly continued getting undressed for him, removing her bra, then her matching panties.  
  
Eric led her down onto the couch after removing all of his clothing, he made love to her slowly and sweetly, making sure to please her as much as possible. They had both hoped the superstars in their locker rooms wouldn't hear the moaning and heavy breathing coming from their office.  
  
Finally RAW was over, Stephanie and Eric laid on the couch and fell into a deep slumber, awaiting the next morning.  
  
**8:30am**  
  
Eric woke up slowly, yawning and stretching as he sat up. He looked around and noticed Stephanie was gone. "Shit." He cursed to himself, wondering why she would leave him, and part of him wondering what time she decided to sneak out. Stephanie then walked into the office, Eric turned and looked at her, with a concerned expression on his face.  
  
"Where'd you go?," he asked.  
  
Stephanie walked over to him, wearing just a RAW T-shirt, sitting down on the couch, "I'm sorry Eric, I left something in Shawn's locker room so I went back to get it, I thought I could get back before you woke up."  
  
Eric looked at her, "What was it?," he asked.  
  
Stephanie opened her hand and revealed a small silver ring in her palm. Eric gave her a suspicious look for a minute, wondering who she received that from and for what.  
  
"It was a gift from a friend, I'd hate to lose it," her smile became a frown as she realized how disappointed Eric was to wake up without her by his side.  
  
Eric decided not to make a big deal about it, "Well, I think I'm going to get dressed and head back to my hotel room." He stood up and walked toward the pile of clothes on the floor, picking them up piece by piece and putting them on.  
  
Stephanie couldn't help but feel worried, "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
Eric pulled on his jacket as he looked at her with an awkward smile, "No, no nothing's wrong at all...."  
  
Stephanie swallowed hard, "So this is how you treat women after you sleep with them," she folded her arms, trying to hold back any emotions other then anger.  
  
Eric walked over to her and looked her up and down, 'that RAW shirt looks very good on her...' he thought to himself, "Stephanie, let's not do this okay?"  
  
Stephanie turned toward him sharply, "Do what Eric? I'm only pointing out the obvious! I'm not some whore you can screw with any time you want."  
  
Eric held back from lashing out at her and instead took a few deep breaths, "Stephanie, you aren't like other women to me," he began.  
  
Stephanie cut him off, "That's right, I'm not, cause I'm the boss's daughter, right? Is that how I'm so different Eric?"  
  
Eric tried to think of the right thing to say, he was never good at flattering women. "It's not that, it's not that at all. Look, I'm not good at this whole.. "relationship" thing, but I do know that I haven't felt this way about anyone."  
  
Stephanie uncrossed her arms and walked toward Eric, "Anyone?," she asked curiously.  
  
"Ever since I meet you Stephanie, you were my match. Strong, assertive, competitive, aggressive.." he locked eyes with her, "You're everything I've wanted in a woman."  
  
Stephanie was shocked, she had never heard any words come out of his mouth toward her other then something witty, selfish, or sexist. But now he was acting differently, she couldn't help but ask herself the question she'd be wondering since the night before.  
  
"Do you love me?," she heard herself say it. It came out before she could stop herself from speaking those words.  
  
Eric looked down, away from her. Stephanie nodded to herself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask such a ridiculous question when I already know the answer."  
  
Stephanie walked over to her clothes and began putting them on as she found them, "Have you seen my underwear?"  
  
Eric sighed then looked around, he bent over and picked up her white thong with his two fingers, dangling them and raising his eyebrows, "look familiar?," he smirked.  
  
Stephanie rushed over, trying to grab them from him. Eric kept pulling back, as if he was playing a game with her, trying to make the moment less awkward.  
  
Stephanie sneered, "Give them back Eric, give them back right now!," she demanded.  
  
Eric chuckled to himself then lowered it to Stephanie's eye level, she snatched it back and glared before she slipped them on. Stephanie continued getting dressed, not noticing Eric watching her dress.  
  
She looked up and shot him a dirty look, "what are you still doing here? I thought you were leaving."  
  
Eric sighed, "Stephanie, what did you think my answer would be to the question you asked me a few minutes ago?"  
  
Stephanie pulled her hair up into a pony tail as she spoke, "When I asked you if you loved me?," Eric nodded as to say 'yes', "Well, I knew you'd say no because you don't love anyone, well, except for yourself."  
  
Eric was shocked this time, "excuse me? I don't love myself...," he laughed a little, thinking she was being sarcastic.  
  
"Yes Eric, you do. You don't even love your own family. I saw what you did to Eugene, that was horrible. Putting him in a match you knew he was going to lose...You only care about yourself Eric, I was stupid for believing you could ever feel anything-"  
  
Eric had heard enough, he walked up to Stephanie and kissed her sweetly, putting his arms tightly around her. Stephanie moaned as he kissed her, his hands running up and down her back, comforting her.  
  
Stephanie broke the kiss and looked in his eyes, Eric didn't have to say anything. She knew he loved her, he just couldn't say it. He let her go slowly and gave her a peck on the lips then headed for the door, turning back and smiling at her. "I'll see you Monday night Stephanie." With a wink and that grin she recognized so well, everything just stood still for that moment, and it all made sense.  
  
**Authors Notes:** I really enjoyed writing this chapter. And I can't thank ALL of you for reviewing. I can't say how flattered and thankful I am for your reviews. I love writing Eric/Steph stories, but every time I write em I get a little worried that people would be grossed out, or think that my pairing is weird. But with all the reviews and supporters of Eric and Stephanie as an item (and individually) I can write more stories and know there will be fans who like the pairing and I'll be even more motivated to write plenty more! THANK YOU for your support!  
  



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